In the Philippines, there is a saying that “Christmas come as early as September.” This is because of the fact that a lot of people and even places actually start putting up their Christmas decorations around this month. Aside from this, whenever we go out in public, we also start to hear Christmas songs playing all over the place. And without a doubt, Jose Mari Chan will be a featured artist in this 4-month long playlist.

Jose Mari Chan is known as the artist of the classic Filipino Christmas hit song “Christmas In Our Hearts.” If you are not familiar with it, it is the one that starts with the line:

“Whenever I see boys and girls selling lanterns on the street…”

Just by hearing those first lines, I’m sure every Filipino around the world will surely feel the Christmas spirit. It is a song that has lasted the test of time and is well-known by different generations of Filipinos.

Because of this, Jose Mari Chan has also turned into an internet meme that trends in the beginning of September every year here in the country. It is obvious that he gained a lot of popularity due to this as well.

In a viral post that was put up last Friday, a lot of netizens went wild as JMC himself came out of nowhere and opened the holiday season. He surprised everyone in a local mall’s food court with a live performance of his famous song. This certainly pleased everyone and got all the people who were there to bring out their cameras to capture the moment. It was probably one of the most fun moments that happened this year.

Though Christmas is still roughly around 4-months away, we can truly say that we Filipinos know how to be festive. These early celebrations are certainly something to look forward to every year in the country. Aside from this, it is also one of those things that make us stand out as a nation. Christmas is indeed more fun in the Philippines.

We commend Jose Mari Chan for being such a great sport. Thank you for giving us one of the most iconic songs to sing along too.